Tradition trumps Covid fear as 30,000 people gather late night for stick-fight in Andhra

Administration imposes Section 144 but people come out in large numbers and force police to let them celebrate centuries-old Banni festival in Kurnool.

Thousands of people gather in Devaragattu village in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, for a stick-fight as part of the Banni festival tradition | By special arrangement

Hyderabad: Thousands of people gathered late Monday night in Deveragattu village in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh to participate in a centuries-old stick-fighting tradition, even under the shadow of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Despite the imposition of Section 144 to prevent the assembly of more than five people, at least 30,000 people gathered at the temple premises in the village to be part of the tradition, called ‘Banni’ festival.

The annual ritual, performed right after Dussehra, sees different groups of local men fight to get hold of the ceremonial idols of the deity of the Mala Malleswara Swamy temple in Deveragattu. Several people have suffered major injuries in this celebration in recent years, while previously, deaths were reported too.

While most of the 30,000 people in the crowd were spectators this time around, at least 2,000 of them participated in the actual stick-fight or ‘Karrala samaram’, and 48 suffered injuries, said A.S. Vinod Kumar, the deputy superintendent of police for the Adoni area.

“We deployed 600 policemen near the temple surroundings… There were no people till 11 pm. Suddenly, thousands of people came together and marched towards the temple. They had sticks and flaming torches. We understood many of them were hiding in the hills… and all of them came together. How can the police control so many people?” Vinod Kumar told ThePrint.

District administration’s preparations

The Banni festival is organised to celebrate the death of two demons who tortured the saints at Deveragattu. It is said Lord Parameswara killed the demons, and before their death, the demons prayed to the lord to give them human sacrifice annually. According to local residents, instead of accepting the demons’ request, Parameswara offered a fistful of blood, and that’s how ‘Karrala Samaram’ began. The blood spilt during the stick-fight is considered an offering to Parameswara.

The Kurnool district administration had cancelled the event due to the pandemic this time, and Section 144 was imposed in Deveragattu and surrounding areas. More than 1,000 policemen were deployed on the ground, check posts were set up at regular distances, and even barricades were put up in a few villages to stop people from gathering for the celebrations.

The police as well as the district administration also conducted awareness programmes in villages — pamphlets were distributed and advertisements put up on billboards — to request people that tradition needs to take a back seat this time due to the deadly Covid-19 pandemic. For the last two days, around 400 policemen deployed in villages and border areas were trying to counsel people about cancelling the event, and even spoke to local leaders and village heads and asked them to spread the message.

Around one lakh people attend the event every year, including people from neighbouring states such as Karnataka, Telangana and Maharashtra. This is why the police had put up 11 check posts at the borders and also halted inter-state buses for two days, specifically those travelling to Deveragattu’s bordering areas, to stop people from coming in. Private vehicles at the borders were sent back, saying there would be no festival this time.

“We even tried to convince them to conduct the event during day time, because it would be easier for us to control the crowd, but they did not listen to us. They tell us this is a tradition that’s continuing since 1,500 years, and it will be done the same way. There’s a ‘muhurtham’ (auspicious time, usually at night) for this,” Vinod Kumar said.

“They told us they cannot get infected with anything like the coronavirus, but if they did not continue this ritual, it would be equivalent to death,” the DSP said.

Kurnool SP K. Fakirappa, told ThePrint, “Somewhere, we need to strike a balance, because this is an age-old religious tradition. Had the police done something last night, it would have reflected otherwise.”

District police also said there were incidents in the past years when personnel got grievously injured while trying to control the crowd and the atmosphere turns extremely violent during the event.

Administration should share blame

However, a local leader ThePrint spoke to, who wished to remain anonymous, apportioned some of the blame to the administration, while explaining why the people’s eagerness to celebrate the festival boiled over.

“The primary reason (for people attending the event) was the lack of awareness about Covid-19. Awareness campaigns should have been run periodically,” the leader said.

“That being said, the people in these villages are very particular about this festival — it is extremely difficult to get them to not do it. There has never been a year when this festival was not celebrated. And because the police put up barricades and all, people came out in anger, challenging the police to stop them,” he added.